Protection 1 Security Review

Average Rating:

Rating Summary:

5 Stars

9.18 %

4 Stars

2.04 %

3 Stars

2.04 %

2 Stars

5.1 %

1 Stars

81.63 %

Can’t get a straight answer

Very Dissatisfied…we have had a long problem in getting our system to arm for away and having the delay to leave. It simply cannot be done from inside the home. I have spent several long phone calls with customer service and tech support. Each time I speak with someone, we spend time “trouble-shooting” to no avail. The last time I was informed a “download” of the delay program will be installed and I will get a phone call from someone within 24 hours advising me it was complete. No phone call after 48 hours and when I called back, I was told the person who told me that was new and did not know what they were talking about. So let’s go back to “trouble shooting”. I find that their customer service leaves a lot to be desired. I have requested a service call and it will take several days. I have been surprised at the incompetence in the handling of this problem, the lying about information and the fact that no 2 people can give me any consisitent information. Once the service call has been completed, I will be seriously looking at different alarm companies.

(1 out of 5)

Protection OneNovember 15, 2009 Anonymous

Great service! Just read the contract

Reading these reviews makes me laugh. I have been a customer for over 9 years and could not be any more happy. I also understand that it is my duty to read every word in anything that I sign. It seems that so many people want to complain and try to bad mouth this company, yet isn’t it their fault? I am completely comfortable knowing how long my contract is and when and how to cancel. Knowing all this I would not run into the same troubles everyone else on here is complaining about. The service is superb! They have a great rating with BBB. If I could change anything it would be the customer service. They need to be more efficient.

(5 out of 5)

Protection OneSeptember 30, 2009 Anonymous

Just as bad as a used car salesman

We had Protection One for just less than two months and decided to cancel the service. When my wife called them to cancel their service, they gave her such a hard time over the phone, that she was in tears and I had to finish it. Not only did they try to scare us with the fees for closing the account but was not forthright in what is required or accurate in the process of closing an account.

We were told, to send a signed request, with account info and reason. They would follow with a letter with the closing amount, we pay it and story close, even though we spent almost 30 min.’s on the phone explaining all these details.

Real life: we sent the letter. A few days later we received a call why the phone signal is not received at their station, apparently the station and the company do not share info. Then a few more days, we received a form to fill out with the exact same info as the letter we just sent in. Then a few days later, a company rep called to follow up. So far all of the company reps has been very condescending, and this one was more of the same with a little threatening (“or we will send this to a collecting agency”). Now we just got the statement with the cost for breaking the contract, but apparently they want more money. The letter is saying that the amount may not be up to date but any overpayment resulting a refund, will be charged a fee of $25.

I have never heard of a large company treating any customer like this, trying to extracting as much money as possible for basically no service. I read the statement from the Protection One employee, the complaints were from a few new/bad employee. I would have to say “Sorry, I don’t think so.”. My wife paid what was on the statement, and we’ll see if they will still try to extort more money from us with their $25 fee.

To summarize, our experience has been of shock, stressed and discuss. Not much different from being jilted by a used car dealership. It is sad to see another large company with little reguards for their customer.

Update:

Sorry to say we have heard nothing from them. Basically, they really don’t care for repeat business or their reputation in this neighborhood.

(1 out of 5)

Protection OneSeptember 23, 2009 Anonymous

Protection One lies. Now very happy with ADT!

Protection One – Two Thumbs down!

After a few months with Protection One I wished to have four additional sensors added to the basic alarm package at my house. Protection One sent a salesman out to discuss what I wanted. In trying to make the upgrade sale, he explained to me that if we were to move to a different house, the entire alarm system would move with us. I wasn’t considering moving at the time but I clearly remember the salesman telling me that, and thinking that was pretty cool.

We eventually did move to another house and I was shocked to find that they would not honor their agreement, telling me that they would only install a basic package at the new residence and would not move or add the additional four sensors I had paid for. I reviewed the paperwork and of course the only thing I had at the time regarding moving the sensors was a verbal from the salesman. Talking reasonably to them as I may, they refused to budge at all and were not very friendly about it either, but rather being quite caviler. To me it was “You lose Sucker”.

I don’t appreciate being lied to in a business deal, so consequently I purchased a Brinks security system at my new place, and continued to make monthly payments to Protection One to finally get out of my contract, in return for absolutely nothing. That is how upset I was at how they treated me. Of course they wouldn’t let me out of the contract and threatened to sue me if I did not pay them. My entire time with them I never missed a payment and for that they treated me like dirt. I believe their greed backfired on them as in the long run I went with another company, and now every chance I get I recommend to people to stay away from Protection One as in my book they are crooks. They lied to me to get me to purchase the additional sensors, and then refused to honor their agreement with me. Bad business practice as the money they would have spent on honoring their agreement (four sensors) would pale in comparison to what they would have made from me in the long run. So not only are they unethical, they are stupid too.

Brinks was great and I even talked them out of a contract. Brinks allowed me to pay them month to month open-ended, partially because the house was formally fitted with a Brinks system, and secondly because they felt bad for me because of the treatment I received from Protection One. Thank you Brinks.

(1 out of 5)

Protection OneSeptember 23, 2009 Anonymous

Technician response time is too long

I will not work with this company anymore. Protection One are charging me a monthly maintenance fee, but when I called I had to wait one week till the technician can come out. And if the technician come within 24 hours they are charging every half an hour.

(1 out of 5)

Protection OneSeptember 1, 2009 Anonymous

Mediocre service

Protection One is adequate as a monitoring service. However, we had a system go offline sporadically for months, and they never noticed or called. When we replaced the main system board on the alarm system, we called Protection One so we could punch in the service’s phone number and the unique ID for our system (which we had lost when the previous system failed). They refused to give this information out, and instead said we had to have a technician come do it. You can imagine how annoyed I was, after having no calls from them while the system was sporadically down (and while it was totally out of service), to be told I needed their help to punch in a couple of codes. After I *****ed, they said they would waive the first half-hour charge for the technician, but I’m dissatisfied enough that I’m now looking at smarthome.com as a replacement. I have no idea what the technician would actually do. Often they want to add installer codes or change existing codes, and at this point I’m not sure I trust them.

(3 out of 5)

Protection OneAugust 24, 2009 Anonymous

Very unprofessional and unorganized – get everything in writing

I had a Protection One consultant come to my house. This was a new guy with a trainer with him. The trainer sat there through the entire sales pitch. The trainee made several mis quotes about the system,without any correction from the trainer. He also stated that I would receive a hard wire system. When the tech arrived at my house. He stated that I have a wireless system,which I told the salesman I wanted a hard wire. After the system was installed, I received a call from his manager. She stated that the salesman gave me the wrong monthly fee. The total would be 150 over the three year term. I told her we have a contract for the stated price. She got upset because I would not give them a additional 150 over a three year term. Make sure you get everything in writing like I did. Happy hunting on your alarm system.

(1 out of 5)

Protection OneAugust 3, 2009 Anonymous

Real problems began after 6 year contract

Stay clear of this company at all costs. I used them for over 6 years and their service was initially good but began to get worse and worse. We were not even getting calls when the alarm was set off. We moved and went with a different company. That is when the fun really begins. They make it near impossible to cancel their service. After certified letters, they then admitted that the service was cancelled but I would be charged additional fees. Initially this was for 30 days but the last bill seemed to indicate that it could be 6 months although on the phone they tell me that this is my final bill. Do not trust this company and make sure you document everything. I suspect that my troubles with this company will continue. Google this company and you will see the numerous rip off alerts. This is a very real problem associated with a very greedy dishonest company.

(1 out of 5)

Protection OneJuly 27, 2009 Anonymous

No signal? No problem for Protection One

We were with Protection One for 12 years. Last year when my husband’s employer was closed for a couple of months, and then production was cut back for a long time after that, we decided we could no longer afford a telephone land line (we’re both required to carry cell phones).

We were not aware the system required a land line but was wireless with a back up system. The alarm would go of if we accidentally forgot to turn it off before entering the house. We never received a call from Protection One to follow up with us as they had in the past. When I called to find out why, they indicated that hadn’t been receiving a signal (but never called our cells or sent anyone out to check on it). We explained we had to discontinue land line & that’s when we learned it was land line based. Even though they hadn’t been getting a signal for a while, they were still billing our monthly fee. When we told them to stop billing, they still continued.

When I asked all monies automatically withdrawn from our check account during the period we had no service they said they could not because it was not their fault.

I’ve since went with another company with a wireless system. I notified Protection One in writing (besides the several phone calls) to cancel us (we are on a month-to-month since we’ve been with them for over 12 years). They’ve now sent me a postcard to complete to confirm our desire to cancel (HOW MANY WAYS DO I HAVE TO SAY IT) and we still have not received any money back. In fact, they say I have to pay for the current month & for 30 days after they receive notification of our cancellation. Also, when the new company installed our new wireless system, they cut the wire to Protection One’s system & they never called to follow up on that — what if a burglar had cut the line.

I will NEVER go back & I will NEVER refer them.

(1 out of 5)

Protection OneJuly 27, 2009 Anonymous

Watch out for Prime Cell – Beware!

If a representative from Protection One contacts you about their Prime Cell option, stear clear from it. My wife and I had this in our home as a primary form of communication. Ever since I had this installed I had communication failures at least once a week. I had a technician to my house 6 times and the thing never worked right. In addition the technician told me this is a piece of garbage. The last time this happened, I was away on business and it took a week for a technician to come out and fix it. I finally had to add a landline just so my security system will work. When a company does not stand behind the products that they sell, I have a problem with that. As soon as I can I am getting rid of Protection One. Their customer service is ok but their products are terrible.

(2 out of 5)

Protection OneJuly 22, 2009 Anonymous

Minimal service for maximum price

I have used Protection One for 10 years and had been happy. Lately, their service and prices have changed dramatically. They now call with their automatic dialer system nightly. When I pick up the phone, they put me on hold. I owe them $350 on an $1100 bill. The new equipment they installed was junk not like the equipment used in the initial installation. I cannot open my windows and I want it changed or modified. Do not agree to anything with them get everything in writing and be there for all installations. These people want to do the least for the most money. I would not do business with them again.

(1 out of 5)

Protection OneJuly 22, 2009 Anonymous

Love Protection One – just read the contract

It’s funny how even in 2009 so many homeowners can’t read or think its their duty to get everything for free. I love Protection One, I’ve never had any problems ever. Read all BBB on this company and why not look at the other horrible companies like ADT, Brinks, apx. Not 1 other security company has a good of rating as Protection One. I read reviews and people are just not smart enough to understand a contract has fine print they all do. It’s the homeowners responsibilty to read all of it and understand why Protection One is the best. I recommend this company to everyone I ever meet.

(5 out of 5)

Protection OneJuly 15, 2009 Anonymous

Protection One does not automatically call 911, just leaves voicemail

Our smoke alarm went off in the house one morning. My husband thought I was answering the phone and I thought he had answered the phone. When I realized that neither of us answered the phone, I call Protection One to let them know that we had handled the problem and there was no need to send the Fire Department to the house. She informed me that they didn’t automatically contact the police or the Fire Department any more if your fire alarms goes off. She further stated that they had left us a voice mail to call them. I asked her what would have happened if we had left for the day and there had been a fire in our house. Her reply was that she didn’t know, but since it wasn’t we had nothing to worry about. I’m not sure what boat she got off, but her answers were very unsettling to say the least. We no longer have Protection One as a our security provider (We used them for 12 years).

(1 out of 5)

Protection OneJuly 7, 2009 Anonymous

Alarm was so quiet, you could sleep through it

The apartment complex that I live in has Network Multifamily (Protection One Dealer) monitoring all of the units. This company is a total joke.

My fiance accidently opened my sliding glass door and set off the alarm. I was asleep at the time in my room. I didn’t even hear my alarm go off and I’m a really light sleeper. My fiance had to wake me up to tell me that he had set the alarm off. I disarmed the system. I never received a call from anyone and no authorities showed up either.

I called Newtork Multi family and the rep said that they never received a signal that my alarm went off. She told me that I don’t have the right home phone for the sytem to operate correctly. Network Multifamily should have made sure that everything was done correctly. She had me set the alarm off again to see if she would receive a signal. I set the alarm off and about 30 seconds later she asks me, “Did you set off the alarm?” She couldn’t even hear it!!!! This happened about a month ago and the service requested light is still on and no one has come to fix it.

The rep told me to call the property manager so she can get in contact with corporate for someone to come out and fix it. My property manager called them and they still to this day have not reponded.

The property manager decided to cancel their contract with Network Multifamily and take the devices out of all of the units. They lost a lot of money and a lot of business because they are a terrible company. Please do not use them. My 7lb. dog and 5 month old daughter aren’t even scared of this alarm it sure isn’t going to scare someone who breaks in!

(1 out of 5)

Protection OneJuly 2, 2009 Anonymous

Company conveniently can’t find customer's letters

Protection One is the biggest crook in the security business. My 85-year old Mother signed a contract with them 5 years ago that had an “auto-renew” in the fine print of the contract (little known to her). In February 2009 she had to sell her home and move to a nursing home but Protection One won’t cancel her contract until the end of the year. They were sent a letter signed by her doctor and the nursing home administrator but they say they can’t find it. Dozens of phone calls have been made and letters have been sent to them (and the Better Business Bureau). Their rude employees still insist that she has to pay through the end of the year.

(1 out of 5)

Protection OneMay 15, 2009 Anonymous

Proud customer for 7 years

I am surprise by the negative comments about Protection One. I had them for 7 years in my home in NJ. When I moved I sent in my cancellation notice and was told I would get a $150 move credit toward a new system. After reading this website I called a few other companies. ADT didn’t even call me back. I called Protection One and they were out the next day. The sales rep. was ***** *********** and he was great. I would recommend this company.

(5 out of 5)

Protection OneApril 24, 2009 Anonymous

Protection One specifically disobeyed customer requirements.

Protection One installed Heat Detectors, where I expressly forbid them from placing them. It took a year and my attorney to force them to move them. The salesman kept telling me that they would move the detectors after the Fire Inspector passed the system. I refused and made them move the detectors, to protect my self from legal liability.

(1 out of 5)

Protection OneApril 24, 2009 Anonymous

Don’t know how they are still in business

In my opinion, these guys are a bunch of crooks. It has been a battle since the first day after we signed a five-year contract. Their prices are astronomical – one can find the same services for half the price. We sold the building and they are holding us to the remaining two years of our contract! The employees are so rude and do not have any communication within or outside their departments, making this a very frustrating experience. I can’t imagine how they stay in business. I use Bay Alarm (San Joaquin Valley) for all the other buildings I manage and they are wonderful.

(1 out of 5)

Protection OneApril 5, 2009 Anonymous

Terrible management

Protection One has to be one of the worst companies, I have ever dealt with, not only their prices are ridiculously high they also treat their employees as though they are not worth anything, especially the supervisors at the Pennsylvania branch. I strongly advise people to choose someone else to provide their security alarm systems.

(1 out of 5)

Protection OneApril 1, 2009 Anonymous

You can trust Protection One to keep your family safe

I have no problem with Protection One. Been their customer for over 15 years. I was looking for an alarm for my daughter. I will stick with Protection One.

(5 out of 5)

Protection OneMarch 31, 2009 Anonymous

Taking them to court!

I purchased a home alarm system in 1997 from Protection One. It had a 24 month contract period. In early 2008 I was preparing to re-locate to Washington, and called to cancel my contract. In March I became aware via bank withdrawal that they were still drafting money from my SoCal bank account. During a telephone call I was then made aware of the 30 notice prior to the end of the automatically renewal contract. Interesting enough there is no address on the contract to mail a cancellation notice. The Protection One operators are certainly reluctant to divulged this information as well.

I received a letter in May demanding payment with 2 different address; 1 in KS and the other in IL. I mailed 3 months payments and a cancellation letter. Fortunately this was just under the wire before my contract did an auto renew…

In Jan 09 I received a “Final Demand” letter for $250 on account. I fired back a letter demanding an accounting, in return I recieved a dunn letter from a collection agency for $301.30.

In reading through many similar threads, nobody seems to have been able to beat Protection One and are simply robbed of their money.

Tonight I filled out a $5000.00 small claims suit against Protection One, which I will file tomorrow. I have notified the collection agency the case is under litigation…Let me see if I can make them a bit uncomfortable. Since attorneys are not allowed in SC court, I am a person that is used to arguing regulations, and laws to the FAA on a regular basis…I should get my cost back at the minimum, and let us see what my credit is worth….

I will post again as the case continues. As it stands at this moment I will not simply withdraw my case because the decide they made a clerical error. Anyone in the Seattle area that has been victim and would like to testify just let me know.

(1 out of 5)

Protection OneMarch 12, 2009 Anonymous

Protection One didn’t follow their own contract

Protection One is probably the worst alarm company you could ever choose to do business with. They are liars, they refuse to abide by the language in their own contracts and the employees that you have to deal with when you have a dispute are just plain rude and hateful. My company used Protection One to monitor our manufacturing facility for eleven years. I never had any reason to suspect during that time that they were into using unethical bullying tactics on their customers until I decided that we didn’t need their services anymore.

Here is what happened: They sent us a notice in our monthly statement saying they were going to raise our monthly fee by a little over five dollars per month. Five dollars is nothing to me, but, since we never turned the alarm on, ever, I decided I would just cancel the service. When I attempted to do that I was informed that I would have continue paying the monthly fee for another six months, until June. Because the contract stated that unless we cancelled within thirty days of our sign up anniversary that we would be liable for another whole year. They were correct on that point and I would have written them a check for the remaining months except for one reason, the contract had a whole lot more to say.

For starters, it was written into the contract that Protection One could raise the rates once a year but if they did they had to notify the customer at least thirty days in advance of it taking effect. They also wrote into the contract that if the customer refused to pay the extra fee and sent them a cancellation noticed within thirty days of the start date the contract would no longer be in force. We sent them a letter within the thirty days saying that we were not going to pay the extra and that we were cancelling the service. They had their representatives call us to tell us that the contract really didn’t mean what it said and that we would have to continue to pay the monthly fee until June. The person that takes care of accounts payable called them to dispute their interpretation of the contract and was met by rudeness and threats.

As the president of the company I was not happy to hear how my employee had been treated by the agents of a company that we had paid a lot of money to over the past eleven years. So, I called them myself and ended up being connected to a woman named “Megan”. Before I began my conversation with her I informed her that the conversation would be recorded. She said she would have to get permission from her boss before she could allow that. What an idiot, in Oregon the law states that only one of the parties need know that a conversation is being recorded so I was not under any legal obligation to inform her in the first place, I did it as a courtesy so she could watch what she said. I still have the tape. She must have forgotten part way through the conversation because she became just plain rude and attempted to use intimidating bully tactics. I told her not to even think about turning our company into any credit reporting agencies since were well within our rights to cancel the service as spelled out in their contract. Her response was that that was exactly what she was going to do.

At this point I had not done any research on the Protection One but after talking to “Megan” I did some checking on them. I found out that they had been fined $125,000.00 by the state of Oregon for similar practices that they were trying to use on me! I made a copy of the judgment from the Oregon Attorney Generals office and wrote across the top after highlighting the similarities with a yellow marker, “You guys, never learn do you!?” Then I wrote them a letter asking that they acknowledge the fact that my company is no longer using them. I also told them not to call me on the phone but to contact me by email and I gave them the address. (I wanted to make sure I had written proof of any future dealing with them) . I also told them that if they thought they were right and I was wrong that they could take me to court and if the court ruled in their favor I would pay them what I owed. They never did send me an acknowledgment and they haven’t sent any more billing statements either.

Nancy Kroll, from Protection One, wrote the following rebuttle to the reviews previous to this one. She said:

“I am the Manager of Executive Customer Relations for Protection One. As such, I would like to extend my sincerest apologies to anyone that has had an issue with us that has not been responded to. Protection One prides itself on providing the very best in Customer Service and our goal is to reach a fair and equitable resolution to the customer’s issue. I would be very happy to review any complaint that a consumer might have, past or present”.

That is a lie. They will work with you, yes, but only to try and get you to agree that they are right and you are wrong! Everything their agents told me was just plain wrong but if I would have sent them the money, they would gladly have taken it! I will give them this, I think they are smart enough to know when someone was serious about calling their bluff. In the case of our company it wasn’t the five hundred dollars we would have had to pay them until June, that is chicken feed, It was the idea of dealing with bullies that was so galling! Believe me, we were prepared to spend an enormous amount if necessary to teach them a lesson. Of course we would have gone for attorney and court fees and probably would have prevailed on that.

So, Don’t use them, there are other reputable outfits to choose from!

(1 out of 5)

Protection OneMarch 10, 2009 Anonymous

Sent me collections for over 1K, sending them to court

This is a really bad alarm company to deal with. We signed a contract for three years with this company, which was formerly Digitronic and was sold to Protection One.

Anyway after three years we sold our business and cancel all services with them right by the end of the terms, I did called to cancel and even send a letter how they requested with the confirmation of cancellation, in that moment I didn’t realized that they are the ones who supposed to send me the letter with that confirmation, later on I found out that they never closed the account, now they send me to collection for the amount of $1,304.22 because they said that the account was never closed, that they never got any letter and such a contract said that if the account is not closed by the term of the agreement they renew the contract automatically for another 3 years.

BEWARE OF THIS COMPANY, THEY ARE A RIP OFF. All they care about is money and not the safety of their customers. They have a bad process in place. All phone calls we made to them were not documented on anywhere in their company. We are really fed up and we felt cheated by this company. We paid for services that was not rendered and protection one still wants us to continue to pay even after we moved out of that location.

It is a shame that companies like Protection One still exists in this country. We are not going to pay and we are going to file a complaint with the better busines bureau too.

We are suing this company.

(1 out of 5)

Protection OneMarch 6, 2009 Anonymous

No specific cancellation fee written in contract

NEVER AGAIN will I sign up with Protection One, EVER! The customer service is an absolute joke and you would be better off looking at another name brand security system. Also, it is impossible to cancel the contract. It automatically rolls over year after year after the contract first expires, thus costing you a fee to cancel. By the way, the cost of the fee to cancel is not even written in the contract so it’s up to them to determine what that fee will be.

(1 out of 5)

Protection OneFebruary 11, 2009 Anonymous

Could write a book about the many troubles with this company!

Without trying to repeat the consistent complaints of this company as I initially intended to, I will post what I believe are the most frequent areas of sales misrepresentation done by Protection One:

Automatic renewal of initial monitoring contract if not notified in writing 30 or more prior to the end of the initial lease term

$100 cancellation fee or the payment of the remainder of your contract

Although you’ve paid $600 for initial equipment and installation they send alarm techs out to your home to remove {contacts, punch pad, master CPU, and motion sensor} leave you with holes within your walls and exposed wires at your windows

Charge you $95 to come out and remove the alarm components from your home

Still try to charge you and additional $250 for alarm equipment

This is not a company I would recommend anyone doing business with. After using their monitoring service for 5 years I simply wanted to cancel services because I was relocating to another state. During the 5yrs we had never had an accidental alarm incident and due to a faulty window tab we had a false alarm generated. The local Tucson office of Protection One stated a tech would be sent to remove our alarm from the home although we specifically selected this company because we asked the salesman if we would have an operable alarm system at the conclusion of the contract should we elect not to be monitored. The salesman response was absolutely! You will have a functional alarm system the only difference is there would be no automatic police response. Now that service was requested to be discontinued we are told we don’t own the equipment and to read bullet #7 on the back of the contract. In the smallest print on the page it says ALL equipment is to remain the property of protection one… What the heck did I by for $600 then? My home was pre-wired. I can write a book about my ordeal with this company … Do not do business with them!!!!!!

I suggest you query to find a company that will install your alarm system without requiring any monitoring agreement. Then shop companies that monitor the system..preferably a local company do not allow them to remove you existing system or try to state you equipment is incompatible with theirs …. Anyway .. way more than I wanted to write ..buyer beware … Whatever the salesman tells you make 100% certain it is put in writing.

Let’s Disqus This Protection 1 Security Review

What did you think of this review? Let us know how we compare to other Protection 1 Security reviews and what we can do to make ours even better. Post your questions, comments, and suggestions below and we’ll respond ASAP.